So I am a neophite in this area, but my thesis for why "this time is different" compared to previous AI bubbles is that this time there exist a bunch of clear products (or paths to products) that work and only require what is currently available in terms of technology.
Coding assistants today are useful, image generation is useful, speach recognition/generation is useful.
All of these can support businesses, even in their current (early) state. Those businesses have value in funding even 1% improvements in engineering/science.
I think that this is different than before, where even in the 80s there were less defined products, amd most everything was a prototype that needed just a bit more research to be commercially viable.
Where as in the past, hopes for the technology waned and funding for research dropped off a cliff, today's stuff is useful now, and so companies will continue to spend some amount on the research side.
Coding assistants today are useful, image generation is useful, speach recognition/generation is useful.
All of these can support businesses, even in their current (early) state. Those businesses have value in funding even 1% improvements in engineering/science.
I think that this is different than before, where even in the 80s there were less defined products, amd most everything was a prototype that needed just a bit more research to be commercially viable.
Where as in the past, hopes for the technology waned and funding for research dropped off a cliff, today's stuff is useful now, and so companies will continue to spend some amount on the research side.